Back to Basics with Influencer Relations

6 November 2017

“Building brand loyalty with influencers takes time. Although every brand wants a slice of the influencer pie, it should never be thought of as a quick or easy win. Just like all media relations, it takes effort to nurture a relationship. Develop a plan of action together, rather than in isolation, and you will reap the best results.

Big numbers might tempt you, or lure in your client, but finding a set of influencers that reflect your brand values and want to work with you is much more important. Don’t follow the trend, integrate your blogger outreach into your wider campaign and take time to consider who you’re working with and why.

It doesn’t always need to be fancy and complicated. In fact, sometimes it’s better to be obvious about what you’re trying to achieve. For new products nobody has ever heard of, reviews are often the perfect way to generate some great content. But we should always be thinking further than one hit, both for our clients, and also the influencers we’re working with. You don’t have to do anything clever or complicated if you’re on a tight budget, even offering a competition as a follow-up to a product review can boost engagement, benefiting both the blogger and your client. Ask your chosen blogger(s) what’s worked well for them in the past? How do they like working? Do they want strict guidelines, or prefer a creative approach? Find out which of their brand posts have performed best and why.